Lesson of SL #145: Keep Your Hands to Yourself

Now before you get ahead of yourself, calm down. I don't mind getting frisky with the other avatars roaming around Second Life, and some days I prefer to keep my hands not to myself! But let's be honest...there are some places in SL that touching yourself is not appropriate. Your mum's cabin, in front of the business group you're speaking to/with your business partners/next to sponsors (Lesson in SL #56), shopping with your best pals/family/strangers, at the worst/best SL wedding imaginable (Lesson in SL #118), or dancing at that new hip/not-so-hip club (Lesson in SL #34), and that's just the beginning of a long list of places you just shouldn't touch yourself or others while visiting.

So let's dig in. Couples HUDs are cute, yeah, no doubt. Showing that you like to hug people, awesome! But when you can't detangle your limbs from your partners, eww. Nobody wants to see PDA 24/7 in RL so why would we want to log on to see overtly sexual, affectionate, fondling avatars? Don't get me started when those HUDs spam gestures of "OOOOOOOOOOO I LOOOOOVE YOOOOU!" *gag*. Please, keep the HUDs at home, or at your favorite hangout where you are surrounded by people who might actually like you. There is no reason to go out shopping while screaming about your cursed love life in front of strangers...and I doubt your friends really care to know who you can't stop humping either.

I digress! This is actually a rant about AO stances, and the less than appropriate ones we have all seen around the grid; the ones where you are touching your bits like it's the end of the world, and you don't want to die without that last...well you know. Whatever creative animators in SL that thought sexy AOs with animated masturbation poses were fashionable need to be taken out to the tool shed with Uncle Bubba, because no, playing with yourself in any world is not fashionable, nor sexy, nor appropriate, nor polite, nor should ever happen. Again, there are things one just shouldn't do.

Keep Your Hands to Yourself!

1. Yeah I might say the poses that have a hand up top and a hand down below are great for a sexy photo shoot, but do you really want your friends to think you like to twiddle all areas while they are standing there?
2. Now these are the poses that I wonder who thought they looked good in an AO. These poses look like it's Sexy Time and you've lit all the candles with Barry White playing in the background. Keep these poses in that secret folder called "Only Use When Alone."
3. My only complaint/comment/question: what's the hand in the back doing? ...enough said there.

So this is what everyone needs to know: no to couples HUDs in public, never to inappropriate touching poses/animations, and yes to animation overriders with decent poses!

Men: you thought you could get away without being taught a lesson? Oh no, you too are guilty of touching others and yourselves inappropriately in public. The hand-slapping-the-booty gesture has got to go, the groin grabbing ones too, and don't get me started on your assortment of humping gestures. Ditch 'em! Despite what some skanky women say, ladies respect a man who respects women (Lesson in SL #287)!

Shown above:
Hair - !lamb - Mister Sister
Skin - Tokeo.Plastik - Titania
Eyes - Tokeo.Plastik - Mourn
Shoes - { Kari } - Skull&bones&waves high tops
Socks - ~Scribble~ - Slouchy Socks
- *Petit Ange* - Knit Tights
- Sheer - Torn Shiny Stockings


And as always, the above poses are a dollarbie at our [:Decolletage:] Photo Studio! I'll probably crank out more ridiculous poses till I get the hang of animating, so remember to check this blog often enough.

<3
-Sweet

Lesson of SL #87: Friendship is Free

...at least in Second Life.
I've been in SL for too many years now, and while it's been a long experience, looking back I can honestly say that this rant applies to a great many people. Let me start by saying, when I was new to SL, I had a sugar daddy who gave me Lindens; I never knew how much they cost then, so I spent the L$ in ignorant bliss. When my relationship with him ended, I decided to start over with no more sugar daddies or supporters, and from then on I've been able to pay for my Second Life luxuries on my own. It was a bit of a shock to realize how much money I had spent, and have spent, but every Linden has been a luxury; paying for my luxuries in SL has brought me more pride and satisfaction than the items I actually buy, but maybe that is just Silly Sweet. The sad fact is, as many of us know, that when you don't have the money in Real Life, you shop less in Second Life. This short rant goes out to those people who either do not think that L$ spent is a luxury, or who are unable, unwilling, and/or uncaring enough to pay for their own Lindens.

In no way, shape, or form should friendship in Second Life every be purchased or paid for; we are all adults, and we all want to enjoy our luxuries, but if you want more luxuries than others then it's time to find a way to support your luxury habit! If a friend helps you out by loaning some Lindens, repay them! They are worth keeping as a friend, so make sure you share that you care by repaying them. And if a friend refuses to give you any money, then respect their wishes, because giving money is not a requirement of being a friend. Friendship is much more than who has more money, and is usually defined in less quantitative qualities. I've lost many friends over the years, some who will always be missed and some who were shown the door, but never again will I let money be the defining factor for any of my SL friendships, and I encourage others to join me in saying, "Friendship is free...at least in Second Life."

Friendship, n.
1. The state of being friends; friendly relation, or attachment, to a person, or between persons; affection arising from mutual esteem and good will; friendliness; amity; good will.
2. Kindly aid; help; assistance, [Obs.]
3. Aptness to unite; conformity; affinity; harmony; correspondence. [Obs.]

And the pose used in the picture above is free at our [:Decolletage:] Photo Studio. Drop on by and say hello!

Shown above:
For Sweet-
Skin - Tokeo.Plastik - Titiana
Hair - Truth - Babyhoney
Vest - Camie Cooper - Short Double Buttoned Vest
Bra- Intimizzio- Mae bra
Jeans - Primitive Designs - Riot Jeans



<3
-Sweet

Lesson of SL #231: Jazz Hands

I'm a ranter, but not a raver. So I'll start off lesson number two-hundred, thirty-one with the rant of: how big are your hands?
Shapes are not an art, but often they represent qualities we appreciate in the real world. All my shapes tend to have wide hips, because I have wide hips, or big eyes because I have big eyes. We automatically incorporate our favorite qualities of ourselves in Second Life, whether consciously or subconsciously. Seeing large lips, flat noses, bubble butts, chunky thighs, or meat on a shape does not bother me so much as...jazz hands. Everyone knows what jazz hands are, but in Second Life I have found that too often jazz hand pride has ruined a beautiful face. One may ask, what exactly are jazz hands in SL?

Mmm, big, meaty, manhands.

Women: Please, stop showing off your manhands. Turn down those hand sliders, and not all the way! We want a small amount of jazz hand pride, to show that you are capable of grasping objects still. A suggestion is to keep the hands under 30 at all costs but at least above 15 (with my favorite an even 20), but remember most importantly that the hand size has to go with your shape. Tall and slender can afford to have longer fingers and therefore bigger hands, but if you're the shorter type of woman, try reducing the hand size down a few notches. Never should a woman's hands be the focal point of a shape (unless you're showing off your bling ring, in which case you'll need to see Lesson in SL #126: No bling).

Men: Oh men. Your shape is handsome, yes, but have you taken a look at those hands? It's time to show that you are a man, so move the slider up! 30 should be a minimum with 50 as a maximum, and once again, make sure that your hand size fits your shape.

In the end, perfect hands show off jazz hand pride much better.
Don't you agree?

Us ladies at Decolletage want to encourage everyone to show off their jazz hand pride, so we are offering the above pose free at our [:Decolletage:] Photo Studio. As always we encourage the use of the studio as a free service, and will alert you as more new poses show up on the blog.



Shown above:
Skin - *Redgrave* - Pale Skin Garcia
Eyes - Tokeo.Plastik - Assorted
Hair - Magika - Word
Hair - Truth - Ash
Pants - [ Riddle ] - Everyday Denim Nearly Black
Shoes - [ Riddle ] - Leopard Heels
Top - Ornamental Life - Kiwi Kawa
Shape - [:Decolletage:] - Jane

Pop the Cherry.

It's time.
The first post deserves a great song!

"Jerk It" By Thunderheist